Peter Sís is an internationally acclaimed author, artist, and filmmaker. He was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. He also studied at the Royal College of Art in London. His picture books for children include Play, Mozart, Play! ; the Caldecott Honor Books Tibet: Through the Red Box and Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei ; the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Tree of Life: Charles Darwin ; and several popular books inspired by his own children, such as Madlenka and Fire Truck . He has also illustrated bestselling books written by Jack Prelutsky, among them Scranimals and The Dragons are Singing Tonight . Peter Sís is an internationally acclaimed author, artist, and filmmaker. He was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. He also studied at the Royal College of Art in London. His picture books for children include Play, Mozart, Play! ; the Caldecott Honor Books Tibet: Through the Red Box and Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei ; the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Tree of Life: Charles Darwin ; and several popular books inspired by his own children, such as Madlenka and Fire Truck . He has also illustrated bestselling books written by Jack Prelutsky, among them Scranimals and The Dragons are Singing Tonight . Peter Sís is an internationally acclaimed author, artist, and filmmaker. Among his works are three Caldecott Honor books: The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain ; Tibet: Through the Red Box ; and Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei . He has illustrated five other novels by Sid Fleischman, including the Newbery Medal book The Whipping Boy . He lives with his family in New York State.